LONG BLOG

2013 has been a great year for gaming. Between new consoles, and great games capping off the last consoles, there's a lot to talk about. So instead of going over everything from this year, I'm going to go over my top five of 2013 (that I played). So without further ado, let's get to my personal best of 2013!

5. Pokemon X/Y

I bought a 3DS XL mainly because I wanted Pokemon X/Y. I've played every Pokemon in the series to date, minus the original Gold and Silver on GBC, so I was more than excited for X/Y. However, what I didn't expect, was how fresh it felt. The last few generations of Pokemon felt stale to me, and I had a fear that this one was going to as well. However, I ended up enjoying every minute of it. From the awesome new graphical style to the catchy soundtrack, Pokemon X/Y was a huge surprise to me, and is one of my favorite Pokemon games of all time.

4. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

I bought Ni No Kuni after Max Scoville's review over at Rev3Games. He had originally turned me on to the movie My Neighbor Totoro, and later other Studio Ghibli films, and seeing how much he enjoyed the game made me interested. I freaking loved it. From beginning to end, the game was immensely charming, and it made me feel like a kid again. To top it off, the game had a beautiful soundtrack that really fit the mood of the game. It's a great game, and really opened me up to more of Studio Ghibli's excellent movies.

3. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

A few years back, the stealth action game Metal Gear Solid: Rising was re-announced at the Spike VGA's as an action hack and slash game called Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. People were quick to hate on the new style. I, however, had faith that it was going to be a good game. My faith was rewarded. Metal Gear Rising didn't have the best story this year, but damnit, it was fun. Who knew that cutting enemies into tiny little pieces would have been so enjoyable? I've played through the game multiple times, yet I keep wanting to go back and play more. A great addition to the already great Metal Gear series.

2. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

I've never been much of an MMO guy. The first MMO I played was Final Fantasy XI way back when it launced in the US ten years ago. I loved it, and it remained my favorite MMO ever, even after playing World of Warcraft for a few years. However, one game managed to take the top spot of favorite MMO from FFXI: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. I was originally excited for Final Fantasy XIV back when it originally launched, since I loved Final Fantasy XI so much. The original incarnation of the game, however, turned out to be a flop. I played it during the public beta, weeks before it launched, and it was awful. Fast forward to 2013. Square Enix had spent years rebuilding the game from the ground up, and in my opinion, it paid off. It's hard to explain why I love this game so much. Maybe it's because of the world that has me interested in what's going on in all corners of it. Or the amount of polish the game has. I've spent more hours playing this game than all the other games on this list combined, and it's only been out since August. That's saying something.

1. The Last of Us

The Last of Us wasn't on my radar until around release time for the game. I wasn't a big fan of the developer's previous games, Uncharted, and I thought that this was going to be more of the same. I was wrong. Very wrong. The gameplay was very immersive, giving you limited ammo and supplies, the voice acting was some of the best I've ever seen in a game, and the story was perfect. I honestly can't think of one thing I didn't like about The Last of Us. This game really makes me look forward to what other non Uncharted games Naughty Dog has up their sleeves.

And that's it! It was hard to pick just five, but I did it. What were some of your favorite games of 2013?